Here is a recap of the most popular biometrics industry news that appeared on BiometricUpdate.com this past week.

Fingerprint technology

Gemalto, Fingerprint Cards, Precise Biometrics and STMicroelectronics have collaborated on an end-to-end security architecture for biometric fingerprint authentication in wearable and consumer electronics devices. The companies say that the solution will offer new opportunities to the consumer electronics market to implement secure authentication solutions based on FIDO Alliance’s specification.

PayPal recently rolled out an update of its app to now include fingerprint authentication for access control on both Android and iOS versions. Last April, PayPal’s Head of Developer Evangelism, Jonathan Leblanc, revealed that PayPal was working with developers who are building prototypes of futuristic ID verification techniques.

NEXT Biometrics has unveiled the 1411-S, a new fingerprint area sensor embedded module designed for integration into a range of mass market applications, such as remote controls, tokens and door locks. The embedded module’s large active area allows stable imaging, intuitive user operation and is best suited for applications that require security and convenience.

Vkansee recently demonstrated how a fake fingerprint can fool a smartphone’s fingerprint sensor and company president Jason Chaikin also took the opportunity to discuss how its recently released VK0208 sensor can provide a far greater performance, capturing fingerprints at a resolution of 2000 pixel-per-inch (PPI), in contrast to current industry standard sensors of 500 PPI.

CrucialTec, a Korea-based mobile input solutions provider, has combined the recently launched AGC multi-thickness glass with a fingerprint sensor into the ‘Under Glass Biometric Track Pad (BTP)‘ device for mass production. A prototype of the device was exhibited last week at CrucialTec`s booth during GSMA Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, Spain.

IDEX ASA has successfully completed development of a flexible polymer touch sensor with image quality and performance criteria specifically designed for smart card and ID card applications. The design and development of this flexible polymer touch sensor enables compatibility with standard, volume card manufacturing processes to be deployed as part of tier-one bank, smart card and ID card ecosystems.

Sonavation has unveiled its capability of ultrasound fingerprint imaging through OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays that are being designed for the next generation of smartphones, tablets, wearables and devices. According to the OLED Association, shipments of smartphones with OLED are expected to grow to 461M in 2019, almost double 2015 shipments.

Payment solutions

MasterCard is bringing its biometric payment solution to Canada this summer. Cardholders will be able to pay for online purchases on their smartphones via a selfie or fingerprint rather than a PIN or a password. More than 90% of participants in a recent pilot program said that the biometric payment authentication is a method they could see themselves using on a daily basis.

Morpho (Safran) is partnering with Visa to demonstrate new payment solutions using technologies such as biometrics, tokenization and digital signatures. Morpho CEO Anne Bouverot commented on the collaboration, “We are convinced by the potential of biometrics as a cornerstone technology for the future of secure payments.”

Aadhaar

Officials in the Indian government claim that Apple, Microsoft and Google are not making their proprietary biometric systems available to be used for Aadhaar authentication. The officials claim that these companies are acting as “gatekeepers” and are averse to allowing open access to their smartphone software development frameworks to leverage biometric functionality.

Biometric data protection

Businesses are opposing proposed legislation in Washington state that would ban commercial interests from collecting and selling personal biometric information without obtaining consent. The proposed bill would require a company to obtain an individual’s specific consent to enter biometric identifiers into a biometric database, and would only allow companies to keep biometric data in the system for a limited period of time.

Facial recognition

Tyco Security Products has added facial recognition capabilities to its American Dynamics VideoEdge video surveillance systems, enabling the immediate detection and verification of individuals. The features also allow security officials to enroll and save known faces with video to help facilitate faster investigations in the future.

New York State’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) recently upgraded its facial recognition software to prevent individuals from obtaining a driver’s license under false pretenses. The upgraded program doubles the number of measurement points mapped to each driver’s photograph from 64 to 128, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Voice biometrics

HSBC and first direct mobile banking customers are being offered the option to use voice biometrics technology by Nuance Communications to securely access their banking accounts. Francesca McDonagh, HSBC UK’s head of retail banking and wealth management, described the program as “the largest planned roll out of voice biometric security technology in the UK”.

Windows 10

HP unveiled its new Elite x3 Windows 10 smartphone with fingerprint and iris recognition security features. Marketed by HP as “one device that is every device,” the Elite x3 is designed to take advantage of Windows 10 Continuum which essentially enables a phone to act as a PC stand-in when it is used with one of two different docks.